BOSTON -- Defenseman Noah Hanifin and center Jack Eichel, two top 2015 NHL-Draft eligible players, scored shorthanded goals in the first period to help lead the United States National Junior Team to a 5-2 victory against Boston University in an exhibition game at Walter Brown Arena.

Chase De Leo, a 2014 fourth-round pick (No. 99) of the Winnipeg Jets, and JT Compher (Buffalo Sabres) also scored for the United States, and Anthony DeAngelo (Tampa Bay Lightning) hit into an empty net to conclude the four-day selection camp on the campus of Boston University.

The United States will continue camp in Kingston, Ontario, on Sunday at Rogers K Rock Centre. Prior to traveling to Canada on Saturday, general manager Jim Johannson will reveal which players will be cut from the 30-man roster.

The final 23-man roster will likely be announced Dec. 24. The U.S. begins preliminary-round action in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship against Finland at Bell Centre in Montreal on Dec. 26.

The San Jose Sharks announced Friday that defenseman Mirco Mueller has been released to play for Switzerland at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"This is a great honor and opportunity for Mirco to represent his country," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. "As an important young player to our franchise for now and the future, we think this experience will provide a positive impact on his career moving forward."

Mueller, 19, has one goal and two assists in 24 games, and is averaging 17:09 of ice time per game. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound defender was selected by the Sharks with the 18th pick of the 2013 NHL Draft.

BOSTON -- Goaltender Brandon Halverson will open as starter in the first of three exhibition games for the United States National Junior Team on Friday against Boston University at Walter Brown Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.

U.S. coach Mark Osiecki acknowledged after a morning skate that Boston College sophomore Thatcher Demko would sit this game out. Halverson (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL), a second-round pick (No. 59) of the New York Rangers in the 2014 NHL Draft, will play the first half of the game and Plymouth Whalers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) will play the second half.

The U.S. will have two more exhibition games against Germany on Dec. 21 and Sweden on Dec. 23 in Kingston, Ontario, before the start of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 26. Osiecki was asked if each goalie would be given an opportunity to earn a start.

BOSTON -- It’s impossible to avoid talking about size when referring to Miami forward Anthony Louis.

The 19-year-old Chicago Blackhawks 2013 sixth-round draft pick is listed at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds. He is the shortest and lightest player at the USA Hockey evaluation camp for the United States World Junior Team this week by at least two inches and 12 pounds, according to the camp roster. And we all know how generous those official rosters can be when it comes to the smaller guys.

After all these years, though, Louis doesn’t let discussion of his dimensions bother him.

“I mean it’s in one ear, out the other,” he said. “I just want to prove people wrong in that aspect.”

BOSTON -- Last summer forward Sonny Milano decided to sign with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League rather than attend Boston College.

During the USA Hockey evaluation camp to select the 2015 World Junior Championship Team this week, the 2014 Columbus Blue Jackets first-round draft pick has been united with five players that would have been his teammates this season with the Eagles, and a couple others that would’ve joined them in upcoming seasons.

So far the current and future Eagles haven’t expressed any hard feelings toward the Massapequa, N.Y., native.

“No, I mean, at first a little bit they were joking around,” Milano, 18, said Thursday after the third day of practice at Walter Brown Arena on the campus of Boston University. “But I mean obviously they’ve got to put that past them because right now we’re a team again. Maybe after they’ll give me the cold shoulder again, but not yet.”

BOSTON -- United States National Junior Team coach Mark Osiecki realizes practices and drills can only keep a player's interest for so long.

It's one reason why he feels the players are champing at the bit for a little game action to prove their ability against Boston University at Walter Brown Arena on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be the first of three pre-tournament exhibition games for the United States prior to the start of the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship beginning Dec. 26 at Bell Centre in Montreal.

It will also mark Boston University's first men's ice hockey game at the storied arena since Jan. 2, 2005, a 2-1 loss to the University of Minnesota. The Terriers opened Agganis Arena the following day with a 2-1 victory against the Golden Gophers.

The Ottawa Senators agreed on Thursday to loan forward Curtis Lazar to Canada for the 2015 IIHF World Championship.

Ottawa's first-round pick (No. 17) in the 2013 NHL Draft, Lazar has seven points in 26 games for the Senators, including his first NHL goal Monday against the Buffalo Sabres.

"I knew there was a possibility, it wasn't ruled out," Lazar told the Senators website. "I had a good talk with management this morning and we feel it's the best for my long-term development. It’s a great opportunity for myself. It's going to be a pretty exciting time.

"For me it's about gaining so much needed confidence and maybe finding my scoring touch. I know I got the one goal in Buffalo but if I can fill that here, if I line up beside someone like Connor McDavid, it's going to be great exposure out there and a lot of fun."

BOSTON -- University of Michigan sophomore JT Compher has certainly experienced his share of untimely injuries.

In December 2013, the hard-nosed wing sustained a foot injury while attempting to block a shot in a practice during the United States National Junior Team selection camp in Minneapolis, Minn. The injury left him in a walking boot and gave the managerial team no other choice but to leave him off the U.S. roster headed to Sweden for the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship.

BOSTON -- Defenseman Anthony DeAngelo has made a career out of foiling oncoming forecheckers and disappointing determined shot blockers.

The only thing that sometimes gets in the way of the defenseman achieving his goals is nerves. After the second day of the USA Hockey evaluation camp for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship on Wednesday, DeAngelo said anxiety cost him last year when he was cut from this camp in Minnesota.

The 19-year-old is more comfortable this time competing against nine other defensemen at Walter Brown Arena on the campus of Boston University for a spot on the 2015 team.

"I had to be [more comfortable]," said DeAngelo, who was drafted in the first round (No. 19) by the Tampa Bay Lightning last June. "Last year, kind of, I was a little too nervous and just trying to be too simple and not playing the game that they brought me in to play. So I changed it around a little bit this year."

BOSTON -- Mark Osiecki realizes the importance of having players that are tough to play against in big situations at the World Junior Championship.

Osiecki, coach of the United States National Junior Team, is not only looking for players capable of providing an offensive push but those grinders who are willing to pay the price in getting them the puck. Osiecki has seen his share of hard-nosed competitors as a three-time assistant for the U.S. National Junior Team, including gold medal-winning performances in 2010 and 2013.